The Coyote Project

Client: MCA Chicago

The Coyote project began as a partnership between the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and Prime Access Consulting in 2015, during the development of a new MCA website. Museum websites are rich in images that are often undescribed, excluding low vision and blind people as well as others. To address the problem, the MCA set out on a collaboration with PAC to develop tools to enable the description of thousands of images on their website. The first version of the Coyote software, locally hosted and integrated with the museum’s web content management system, presented images from the CMS needing description, and sent descriptions to be published to the site. The latest version of Coyote operates in a hosted environment so that any institution can sign up with PAC to start using the tool to develop, edit, and refine visual descriptions, as well as to integrate approved descriptions with digital products. Learn more about Coyote.

Project Images

  • A screenshot of the resources page of the Coyote software shows several images and their captions as well as their description status.
    The Coyote software 2.0 resources directory page for the MCA Chicago.
  • In a dramatically lit space, people sit at three rows of tables that are covered in laptops; some people are working in groups. In the first row, two women turn to a red-headed woman standing, engaging them in conversation.
    An MCA "Donuts for Descriptions" activity, inviting all MCA employees to help write image descriptions while enjoying donuts
  • A screenshot of the Coyote software displaying a portrait painting by Kerry James Marshall and its accompanying descriptions.
    A screenshot of an image page showing two descriptions on Coyote version 1.0.